11 Things You Could Do Over & Over & Over Again Instead of Using Your Phone
According to data from Ofcom; the communications regulator in the United Kingdom, there are more mobile phone subscriptions than there are people in the UK.
Given the number of newborns and children that are simply too young to have a mobile phone contact (at least so we think), it only enhances how incredible that stat is.
Whilst compiling data for my company’s latest blog post, I found one more stat that shocked me some more.
According to MobileInsurance.co.uk, the average person uses their phone 547.5 hours per year, or nearly 23 full days. Just think about that for a moment…
With that in mind, I began to research all the things the average person could do if they didn’t have a mobile phone, and therefore had an additional 547.5 spare hours in their year.
Here’s what I came up with:
- Read an extra 78 books per year
My research led me to believe that the average book is 250 pages in length, which takes the average human 7 hours to read. Therefore, you could read an additional 78 books in the time you spend on your phone – that’s an extra six-and-a-half books a month.
Or you could read all seven Harry Potter books in just over two months…
- Spend an extra 1.5 hours in bed per day
Tired? Wish you could lie in for an extra hour or so each day? Well, put your phone down for a year and you could get an astonishing additional 90 minutes in bed per day!
Feeling tired and grumpy at work? Leaving the party early because you haven’t got the energy? All of this would be solved but for the intervention and popularity of the mobile phone.
- Microwave 28,157 Rustlers burgers
Remember those microwavable burgers your mother used to stick on for you when you were a child? ‘0 to tasty in 70 seconds’ was their advertisement. Well, in the time you spend on your phone over the course of the year, you could have a lot of run sticking 28,157 Rustler burgers in the microwave, one at a time.
Mind you, with 275 calories in their Flame Grilled Cheese Burger, that equates to an extra 7,743,175 calories a year, so we wouldn’t advise.
- Listen to Michael Jackson’s Thriller album 776 times
The biggest-selling album of all-time was released in 1982 and lasts 42 minutes and 19 seconds. If the average person listened to Michael Jackon’s Thriller whilst on their phone, they could get through the entire album more than twice a day – or 776 times a year.
They’re out to get you; there’s demons closing in on every side. They will possess you unless you change the number on your dial…
- Hop on the London underground from Leicester Square to Covent Garden 98,550 times
The shortest distance between two London underground stations is 260 metres – Leicester Square and Covent Garden on the Piccadilly Line. This takes only 20 seconds, despite costing £4.80.
With the time you spend on your phone you could take this journey an incredible 98,550 times over the course of a year!
- Watch 1,493 episodes of Friends
There were 10 seasons of the American sitcom Friends between 1994-2004, producing 236 episodes in all, each lasting 20-22 minutes. If we ditch our mobile phones and grab some pizza we could watch all 10 season six times over and still have some spare time, or simply watch a combined 1,493 episodes.
“Welcome to the real world. It sucks. You’re gonna love it!” – Monica
- Drive Route 66 14 times
One of the original highways within the USA Highway System, Route 66 was established in 1926 before it was officially removed in 1985. However, it remains in popular culture with several tourists heading over each year to complete the 2,448 mile journey.
According to an article in the USA Today last year the route takes 37 hours to complete. This means if you put your phone down for a whole year you could drive Route 66 fourteen times and still have some hours left to spare!
- Watch 353 football matches
Excluding the half-time break but included the average three minutes of additional time at the end of the second half, you could watch 353 full football matches over the course of the year.
To put that into context, the English Premier League season consists of 380 games over the course of 10 months, with 20 teams playing 38 games each. Or, the last FIFA World Cup was only 64 matches – so you could have watched every single match of that tournament five times and still have time to spare.
- Catch a train from Miami to New York 19 times
Miami, Florida and New York, New York are two very popular tourist destinations. At the opposite end of the East coast of Ame5ria – one at the foot at the country and the other towards the top, they are more than 1,200 miles apart.
Amtrak run a daily journey between the two cities which takes 28 hours to complete. In the time you spend on your phone over 365 days you could complete this journey 19-and-a-half times.
- Watch Cats the Musical 243 times
What’s everybody’s favourite musical? Andrew Lloyd Webber’s musical production of T. S. Eliot’s Old Possum’s Book of Practical Cats, first opened in London’s West End back in 1981 and remains popular to this day.
The show runs for two-and-a-quarter hours, meaning you could watch the play 243 times a year; 20 times a month if you prefer that than a mobile phone.
- Watch the entire Star Wars trilogies 35 times
One of the highest-grossing and most popular film series of all-time – thereare seven films in the Star Wars Prequel, Sequel and Original trilogies, each running for at least two hours. Many a devoted fan has dedicated a day in their lift to watching all seven of them in succession in a day.
With the time available by sacrificing your phone for one year, you could watch the trilogies 35 times over the course of the year. “Do. Or do not. There is no try.” – Yoda
Chris Parkes
Marketing Manager
Network Telecom
Guest